Spider-Man in other media
Spider-Man is a fictional comic book character who has been adapted in various other media. Television Official appearances Spider-Man has been adapted to television many times, as a short-lived live-action television series, a Japanese tokusatsu series, and several animated cartoon series. There were also the "Spidey Super Stories" segments on the PBS educational series The Electric Company, which featured a Spider-Man (played by Danny Seagren) who did not speak out loud but instead used only word balloons. Spider-Man's first cartoon series ran from 1967-1970. *From 1978 to 1979, Nicholas Hammond starred as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the live-action television series The Amazing Spider-Man. The short-lived series, which had started out as a TV-movie, was created before the popular The Incredible Hulk television series of the same decade, and was canceled a year after its debut. *Two Spider-Man cartoons aired on television in 1981: the syndicated series Spider-Man which ran for one twenty-six episode season, and the more popular Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, which aired on the NBC network for three seasons (ultimately totaling twenty-four episodes). *Perhaps as a bit of foreshadowing, Spider-Man's hand appears shooting a web to save a citizen in the third season X-Men episode "Phoenix Saga (Part 5): Child of Light". This episode aired just months before the web-swinger's longest-running show, Spider-Man, which ran for five seasons from 1994–1998, totaling 65 episodes, on Fox Broadcasting's afternoon programming block, "Fox Kids" (in this series, Spider-Man was voiced by Christopher Daniel Barnes in the English version, and by Toshiyuki Morikawa in the Japanese dub, who later played Venom in the Japanese dub of Spider-Man 3). That series continued as Spider-Man Unlimited the following year. *A small reference is made to Spider-Man in the X-Men: Evolution episode "On Angel's Wings", when Angel is seen reading the Daily Bugle, the place Spider-Man/Peter Parker usually works. *In the Iron Man animated series when a hacker causes H.O.M.E.R., the Starks' artificial intelligence to malfunction he mentions Peter Parker. *In 2003, MTV aired Spider-Man: The New Animated Series, a 13-episode Spider-Man CGI series based loosely on the film continuity, developed by Mainframe Entertainment. *Peter Parker made a cameo in the Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes episode "Frightful", voiced by Samuel Vincent. Johnny Storm hires him to make him look good it, no one let him state what his name was so Johnny Storm refers to him as photographer guy. Johnny Storm also stated he was freelance. *A new series, The Spectacular Spider-Man, premiered on March 8, 2008 and lasted 2 seasons. Spider-Man/Peter Parker was voiced by Josh Keaton. *''Ultimate Spider-Man'' began airing on Disney XD in 2012. Peter Parker/Spider-Man is voiced by Drake Bell. *Spider-Man appears in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes episode "Along Came a Spider...", voice reprised by Drake Bell. Originally it was Josh Keaton to reprise his The Spectacular Spider-Man, (which this episode was a homage to) but Disney XD controversially replaced him with Drake Bell. Spider-Man re-appears in the episode New Avengers, as a member of the New Avengers, along with Luke Cage, War Machine, Wolverine, Iron Fist and the Thing. Spider-Man assumes the leadership of the team, frees the Avengers and manages to defeat Kang the Conqueror. After the battle, he officially joins the Avengers. Spider-Man returns in the season two finale of episode "Avengers Assemble!" alongside Earth's Mightiest Heroes in the battle against Galactus and his heralds. Film *''3 Dev Adam: An unofficial 1973 Turkish film featuring Spider-Man as a villain fighting against Captain America and Santo. *Nicholas Hammond plays Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the 1970s TV movies ''The Amazing Spider-Man, Spider-Man Strikes Back & Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge. *During the production of X-Men movie, Spider-Man made a brief cameo appearance in an outtake during the scene when Cyclops, Jean and Storm head in to the inside of the statue of liberty. *''The Green Goblin's Last Stand: a 1992 fan film, based on The Amazing Spider-Man comic book story "The Night Gwen Stacy Died", directed, written, and starring actor-stuntman Dan Poole. It was acclaimed for its high-risk stunts and guerrilla marketing. *Spider-Man: On May 3, 2002, the feature film ''Spider-Man was released. It was directed by Sam Raimi and stars actor Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker. The film uses various CGI effects to bring Spider-Man to life. Although the film adaptation took liberties with the character's history and powers—notably, he was bitten by a genetically modified rather than a radioactive spider (an idea originating with Ultimate Spider-Man), had organic web-shooters rather than mechanical ones, and had a long-standing crush on Mary Jane Watson—it was generally held to be true to the character and was widely embraced by the viewing public. It opened at a record US$114.8 million and earned more than US$403 million in the U.S. and Canada, the highest North American gross of any film released that year, though surpassed internationally (see 2002 in film). The villain of this film was the Green Goblin portrayed by Willem Dafoe. *''Spider-Man 2'' was 2004's second-most financially successful movie in North America and third internationally (see 2004 in film). It premiered in more North American movie theaters (4,152) than any previous movie. Its original opening day was July 2, 2004, but was moved to June 30, 2004. Its first-day gross (US$40.5 million) surpassed its predecessor's US$39.4 million record. Spider-Man 2 was also the first motion picture released in the Sony Universal Media Disc format for the PlayStation Portable, included free with the first one million PSP systems released in the United States. The villain of the film was Doctor Octopus, portrayed by Alfred Molina. *''Spider-Man 3'' began production in 2005 under director Raimi. The studio released the film on May 4, 2007, on a budget reported to be more than US$250 million. The film features three villains: the Sandman/Flint Marko (portrayed by Thomas Haden Church), the New Goblin/Harry Osborn (portrayed by James Franco), and Venom/Eddie Brock (portrayed by Topher Grace). Bryce Dallas Howard plays Gwen Stacy. The plot centers on Peter and MJ's relationship problems, which are exacerbated by the arrival of an alien symbiote that takes over Spider-Man's costume and, despite enhancing his powers, also amplifies his anger, arrogance and other negative personality traits. Despite mixed reviews by critics, Spider-Man 3 opened to record-breaking sales with $59 million on its first day. *''The Amazing Spider-Man'' began production in December 2010 and is being directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay by James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent, and Steve Kloves. Avi Arad and Laura Ziskin are producing the 3D film to be released on July 3, 2012. Andrew Garfield is playing the role of Peter Parker. The film will feature the villain Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard who will be played by Rhys Ifans and the love interest Gwen Stacy (who had previously been played in Spider-Man 3 by Bryce Dallas Howard) who will be played by Emma Stone. All of the official Spider-Man films rank among the list of highest-grossing films. Novels and books Spider-Man features in three original Marvel novels published in the 1970s by Pocket Books -- Mayhem in Manhattan by Len Wein and Marv Wolfman, and Crime Campaign and Murder Moon, both by Paul Kupperburg. In the 1990s, Byron Preiss published a series of novels based on Marvel Comics, edited by Keith R. A. DeCandido, and written by various authors including Adam-Troy Castro, Tom DeFalco, and Diane Duane; Preiss also published two Spider-Man short-story anthologies. Byron Preiss' license eventually lapsed, and the new licensee, Pocket Star (an imprint of Pocket Books), released Down These Mean Streets, by DeCandido, in 2005. In 2006, they released The Darkest Hours by Jim Butcher, and in 2007, they published Drowned in Thunder by Christopher L. Bennett. Some of the Preiss novels were team-ups with other Marvel characters (including the X-Men, Iron Man, and the Hulk), while others were solo adventures. The Byron Preiss novels shared a common continuity and occasionally referenced events in earlier novels, while later novels included a time-line. A number of Spider-Man children's books have also been published, from early readers and picture books to novels. Guide books such as DK Publishing's Spider-Man: The Ultimate Guide, by Tom DeFalco, are also common. Newspaper strip The daily newspaper comic strip The Amazing Spider-Man debuted on January 3, 1977. Produced by Marvel and syndicated by the Register and Tribune Syndicate through 1985, Cowles Media Company in 1986, and King Features Syndicate since, the comic strip was successful in an era with few serialized adventure strips. The strip slowly grew in circulation and as of 2012 is still being published. It was first written by Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee and illustrated by John Romita. Stan Lee's brother, Larry Lieber, illustrated and later wrote the strip for much of its run. In 1992, Paul Ryan took over the penciling (with Joe Sinnott inking) on the Sunday version of the strip and drew that feature for three years. Since 1997, the daily strips are pencilled by Larry Lieber and inked by Alex Saviuk, while the Sunday strips are pencilled by Saviuk and inked by Joe Sinnott. Early story arcs in the newspaper strip were paced much like a comic book, and a complete story unfolded in about 2 months of Sunday and daily strips. While the strip and the comic book feature the same characters, they do not share the same continuity. The strip differs from the established story lines of the comic books, most notably in the villains who Spider-Man fights and the women who Peter Parker dates. Many villains were introduced that have never appeared in other media, including the Rattler, a man who acquired snakelike characteristics. A rare exception was the 1987 wedding of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson which occurred in both the comic book and the comic strip. On December 31, 2008, the strip announced major changes. The following day, the strip underwent a reboot restoring Peter Parker as an unmarried young man living alone in a renovated apartment, attending college, and dating longtime best friend Mary Jane whenever she is available. On January 3, it was revealed that the timeline of the rebooted strip is set "in the days before Peter and Mary Jane were married". On May 24, 2009, the marriage was restored to the dailies, with the previous storyline involving Electro having been revealed to be a dream. The revelation dawns on Peter as Mary Jane walks out of the shower, paying homage to the infamous cliffhanger of Dallas involving the return of Patrick Duffy as Bobby Ewing. Guest stars in the newspaper strip include Wolverine, Daredevil and Doctor Strange. Villains include Dr. Doom, Kraven the Hunter, the Rhino and Mysterio. Stories from the strip have been reprinted as three paperback books. Some story arcs were also reprinted in a trade paperback in the 1980s, showcasing several different artists. A black & white trade paperback reprint of the first two years of the newspaper strip was released on May 3, 2007 by Panini Publishing UK Some stories have also been reprinted in the magazine Comics Revue. Radio series In 1995, BBC Radio commissioned a Spider-Man audio book which aired on BBC Radio 1 over 50 episodes on week days between January 15, 1996 and March 24, 1996. The performance was co-produced by Brian May, who also contributed to the musical arrangement and wrote and performed the theme tune.http://www.dirkmaggs.dswilliams.co.uk/The%20amazing%20spiderman%20dirk%20maggs.htm The scope of the story included a number of familiar characters from the Spider-Man comic books as well as key figures from the Marvel "Heroes" universe such as the Fantastic Four, Namor the Submariner, and Doctor Doom. The role of Spider-Man was performed by William Dufries. Also included in the cast list was EastEnders star Anita Dobson. Spider-Woman motion comics Spider-Man appears in the Spider-Woman motion comics. In this series, he is voiced by Geoff Boothby. Theatre '' promotional poster.]] At the Butlins family entertainment resorts in the UK a musical called Spider-Man On Stage played in 1999. The show contained music by Henry Marsh and Phil Pickett and a book and lyrics by David H. Bell. The original cast album by Varios Records runs 44 minutes. In 2002, the company 2MA produced the first live-action Spider-Man stunt show, staged in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The same show played at Thorpe Park in Surrey, England in 2003 and 2004. Spider-Man has also made stage appearances in Pantomime at the Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre and the Churchill Theatre, Bromley UK. In 2003 a similar stage show called Spider-Man Live! toured North America. show logo.]] At Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles, California, a musical stage version (loosely based on the 2002 live-action film) titled Spider-Man Rocks! was produced, combined singing and action stunt sequences. The attraction ran from May 2002 to August 2004, when it was replaced by Fear Factor Live! A Broadway musical titled Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark opened at the Foxwoods Theatre in New York on June 14, 2011. The show is directed by Julie Taymor and features music by Bono and The Edge. The production stars Reeve Carney, Jennifer Damiano, T.V. Carpio and Patrick Page.Gans, Andrew. "Reeve Carney, Jennifer Damiano, Patrick Page to Star in Spider-Man; Performances Begin in November". Playbill.com, August 10, 2010. The much-in-news troubled musical, is the most expensive piece of live theatre to date, and features high-flying action sequences and stunts. It holds the record for the most preview performances, with over 180 before its opening. Games Dozens of computer and video games starring Spider-Man, based on comics, animation, and movies, have been released for over 15 different gaming platforms. Spider-Man editions of Monopoly, chess, pinball, and many other games have also been made. Spider-Man has been included in every Marvel expansion of the tabletop miniature game Heroclix released to date. Spider-Man cards have been included in both the Overpower and VS System card games. In 1980, D. Gottlieb & Co. released The Amazing Spider-Man pinball machine, designed by Ed Krinski as part of their Star Series 80 line. The line continued well into the early 1980s. The Amazing Spider-Man, a puzzle-oriented action game developed by Oxford Digital Enterprises and released in 1990 for the Amiga, then later ported to PC:DOS, Commodore 64, and Atari ST. The title was published by Paragon Software Corporation and features over 250 screens. In 1990, The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin, developed and published by Sega, premiered on the Sega Master System and was later ported to the Mega Drive/Genesis in 1991, the Sega Game Gear in 1992, and the Sega Mega-CD in 1993. Fundamentally, the game is the same on each platform with each iteration including new levels, enhanced graphics and a few incremental improvements to the game play. The story involves Spider-Man trying to collect six keys from six villains to defuse a bomb in New York planted by the Kingpin. Spider-Man has a finite supply of webfluid and the only way to replenish is to take photos, most profitably of the supervillains, to sell to the Daily Bugle. The Amazing Spider-Man is the title of a video game released for the original Nintendo Game Boy. It was published in 1990 by LJN Ltd. (a subsidiary of Acclaim), and developed by Rare. It is a platform side scrolling action game. The game play involves running across New York chasing supervillains to locate Mary Jane Watson. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was released the following year and was developed by B.I.T.S. The game is a side-scrolling beat-'em up. Spider-Man attempts to clear his name after he is accused of a crime committed by the Hobgoblin. In 1993, B.I.T.S. released the third in the series titled, The Amazing Spider-Man 3: Invasion of the Spider-Slayers. As well as various games based on the Spider-Man license, Spider-Man has also appeared in a few cross-over titles. He appears as a guest character in X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, as well as appearing in both Marvel: Ultimate Alliance games. He is also a playable character in Capcom's series of Marvel-based fighting games, first appearing in Marvel Super Heroes as well as every game in the Marvel vs. Capcom series of games starting from Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter. While not appearing in the main series due to licensing issues, Spider-Man appears in Marvel Super Hero Squad, Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet, and Marvel Super Hero Squad Online as a playable character. He appears as a playable character in the Facebook game Marvel: Avengers Alliance. Toys According to ToyFare magazine, more action figures of Spider-Man have been released than any other character except Batman. The first major Spider-Man toy was the 1966 Captain Action Spider-Man by Ideal, a costume made for the Captain Action figure. It is estimated only 17-22 exist in the original box. ToyFare listed this Spider-Man as the most valuable action figure at $15,000 and up. Numerous other Spider-Man action figures have been produced, from the Secret Wars line from Mattel, to the more recent from Toy Biz, (especially in the Spider-Man Classics line, Spider-Man movie lines and the Marvel Legends line). Lego and Minimates versions have also been made. Over 8,000 toys, collectibles and miscellaneous memorabilia are in existence. Real-life Spider-Men Real-life "Spider-Men" include: * "Spider Dan" Goodwin climbed the glass of two Chicago skyscrapers, the Sears Tower and the John Hancock Center, using suction cups in 1981. * Alain Robert, nicknamed Spider-Man, is a rock and urban climber who has scaled more than 70 tall buildings using his hands and feet, without using additional devices. He sometimes wears a Spider-Man suit during his climbs. In May 2003, he was paid approximately $18,000 to climb the Lloyd's of London building to promote the premiere of the movie Spider-Man on the British television channel Sky Movies. * 'The Human Spider', alias Bill Strother, scaled the Lamar Building in 1921. * Fathers 4 Justice member David Chick used a Spider-Man outfit to obtain publicity for fathers' rights. * Sonchai Yoosabai, a firefighter from Thailand, is considered a real-life Spider-Man. He rescued an 8-year old boy with autism from falling off the ledge of a building by scaling it with no ropes and then rescuing the boy. See also * List of Spider-Man enemies in other media * Green Goblin in other media References External links *[http://kingfeatures.com/comics/comics-a-z/?id=Spiderman King Features: The Amazing Spider-Man] (comic strip official site) *The Amazing Spider-Blog (Covers the daily strip) Category:American comic strips Category:Comic strips started in the 1960s Category:Spider-Man Category:Spider-Man films Category:Spider-Man television series Category:Spider-Man video games